


shiver, but shiver with a friend

by panlesters



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: 2010 ish phan, Fluff, Isle of Man, M/M, Marriage Proposal, and also current phan, apparently, idk early phan, it's another soft one ok, mentions of phil lester's family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-02
Updated: 2019-04-02
Packaged: 2020-01-01 06:56:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,363
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18330911
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/panlesters/pseuds/panlesters
Summary: it might be cold, but the view of the moon on the black ocean and phil next to him makes it more than worth it.





	shiver, but shiver with a friend

**Author's Note:**

> i've been in love with this line since i first heard it and finally i got a story to do it justice  
> enjoy!  
> title from party tattoos by dodie

They're sat on Phil's double bed, Phil pulling off his shirt and settling into bed while Dan watches out the window at the black sky. It's the first time Phil's taken him to the Isle of Man with him, and he was so afraid he would feel like an intruder on their family holiday. But he's already been adopted as an honorary Lester and Cornelia has told him that he's one of them now, and if he misses a holiday now he'll be dead to Kath and Nigel.

  
"It feels so safe here," Dan says softly, thinking out loud. Phil turns to look at him.

  
"Safer than Manchester, definitely," he huffs out a laugh. 

"I could just go for a walk right now and I wouldn't have to worry about getting stabbed." 

Phil gives him a thoughtful look then. Dan doesn't see it; he's too busy gazing out the window at the stars. 

"There's not even any light pollution here," he murmurs. "I've not seen so many stars since I last went to India." 

"It's even better outside," Phil offers. 

"I bet." A sigh leaves Dan's lips. "I'd love to go out and just stand on the shore." He barely has a second to imagine it any longer before his hoodie hits him on the back of his head. "Hey!" 

He turns to see Phil beaming like a dog waiting for Dan to throw him a stick, his tongue sticking out between his teeth. 

"What are you waiting for?" he's pulling on his own jumper and digging some socks out the drawer. 

"What do you mean?" Dan frowns.

"It's only a couple of minutes to the shore," Phil says, waiting for the penny to drop in Dan's brain.

"Phil, we can't go out there, it's gone midnight!" Dan's beginning to zip up his hoodie despite himself. He feels a buzz of excitement in his chest.

"Perfect," Phil's grinning again, and this time Dan's grinning with him.

They stumble as quietly as they can down the stairs, unlock the door and silently step out into the chilled sea air. 

"Phil!" Dan hisses, pulling his hood up and hunching his shoulders. "It's bloody freezing!" 

"You've really never been on an island, huh?" Phil asks, waiting for Dan so he can wrap an arm round his shoulders and rub his hand sympathetically over Dan's arm. 

"I'm so full of regret," Dan mutters as his teeth chatter together. 

"You wanna go back inside?" Phil stops, ready to turn and head back to the house. Dan finds Phil's hand and gives it a tug forwards. 

"Hell no." 

They follow the path as best as they can. The only light is coming from the moon, but they try their best to follow the sound of the ocean, and soon they're standing on a cliff's edge, looking out over the water. The moon dances broken over the waves, and Dan thinks he's never felt so at peace. He wants to turn to look at Phil, but he's not sure when he's ever going to be able to do this again, just stand and watch the night take its course without the worries that the dark normally bring him. 

"It's beautiful," he breathes. Phil's hand squeezes his, and feels Phil's other hand begin to run over it. 

"You're freezing," Phil observes, not taking his eyes off the ocean. 

"Thanks mate, I hadn't noticed," Dan squeezes Phil's hand back and smiles. 

"You okay?" Phil asks quietly. "You're shivering like crazy." 

"I never thought I'd be able to just do this." Dan takes a second to steal a glance at Phil. He's still looking forward, his face ever so slightly illuminated by the moon, a solemn but peaceful expression on his face. "I don't ever go out in the dark. It's like a different world here." 

 

Every time he takes a breath his teeth chatter. Normally he hates being cold, but standing on the shoreline in the dark watching the moon and the stars has been a dream of his for years, and he wants solid proof that this is real. 

He feels Phil's arms encompass his body, and he smiles. 

"Okay, I know I suggested this, but I think maybe we should head inside now." Dan can feel him shivering too, and he wraps his arms around Phil in return. They must look a right pair: two tall, gangly men, hugging tightly side by side while they watch the ocean at one in the morning. 

"I don't want to move."

"You'll get ill." 

"It's worth it." Dan means it. He never thought this moment would be possible. He can barely stand the dark in the safety of his own home, let alone outside. To stand in Phil's arms and feel safe watching the sea in pitch black without the worry of something attacking him from behind... 

Okay, maybe this is going too far. 

Dan lets himself ponder this quietly for a couple more minutes before the moment becomes less enjoyable and more scary. 

"Maybe we should go back inside now," he mutters, almost to himself. He can see Phil smile out the corner of his eye.

 

When they get home, Cornelia is sat at their kitchen table, a book in her hand. She looks up as they try their best to make it through the door silently, and she gets two shaky, blue-lipped, sheepish smiles from them as they see her. 

It's not long before she has them both sat with a fluffy blanket round their shoulders and two mugs of hot chocolate in their cold hands. 

"Careful, Corn," Phil laughs quietly. "You don't want Mamma Lester to think you're taking her place." 

Cornelia smiles knowingly. "And you don't want Mamma Lester to know that you were out in the dark catching colds." 

Dan shrugs. "I have an immune system of steel," he replies. His face flushes red as the statement is quickly followed by a sneeze and a particularly bunged-up "ugh". Cornelia raises a brow at him but says nothing. 

They finish their hot chocolate quickly and are climbing back into bed before long. Dan loves this, being able to huddle into Phil's side no matter where they are. He shoves his hands under Phil's hoodie and smiles softly when he hears a soft yelp.

"How are your hands still cold?" Phil whines. Dan ignores him and wraps his arms right round his torso. His head comes to rest on Phil's shoulder and he presses his mouth next to Phil's ear.

"Thank you for tonight." Phil smiles and runs his hand gently over Dan's arm in reply.

* * *

 

It's one am, it's the end of January, and Dan would much rather be asleep right now than be dragged out into the darkness by the arm. They're both wearing hoodies, both of them a lot more sure about themselves than they were all those years ago. 

Dan's still a little afraid of the dark, but he knows from nine years of experience that he feels safest around Phil, so he embraces that feeling and allows himself to enjoy the cold. 

"Remember when we came out here the first time?" _The first time_. Dan still can't really comprehend that there have been multiple times. It's almost a tradition for them now, to spend as many nights as they can out in the dark and cold, listening to the waves crash against the rocks and looking up at the stars. 

"It wasn't as cold as this," Dan grumbles. Maybe the romance of the first time has worn off. Maybe it's that Phil _woke him up_ for this. Phil laughs quietly. He knows Dan can't see him right now, and he doesn't know if that makes it more or less scary. He knows Dan can't see him reach into the pocket of his hoodie and get out the little box, but now he's not sure if Dan will see him get down on one knee. 

Dan spends so much time just watching the ocean, he ignores everything else around him. Phil feels like he's been on the ground for hours before Dan finally turns and sees him, sees the ring shining in the moonlight. 

"Phil?" 

"Dan."

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading! i hope you enjoyed! comments are appreciated, come scream at me @ panlesters on tumblr


End file.
